November/December 2021 - 26

The state of DFI was covered during a
luncheon in which Michael Wysockey,
Ph.D., P.E., DFI president, noted his
enthusiasm for the mixture of
academics, suppliers, contractors,
engineers and others who are members.
Among his announcements were Paul
Axtell, P.E., D.GE, of Dan Brown and
Associates being named a new trustee.
Wysockey also gave Presidents' Awards
for outstanding commitment to Hannah
Iezzoni, P.E., Keller-North America; Mary
Nodine, P.E., GEI Consultants; and
Timothy Siegel, P.E., G.E., D.GE, Dan Brown
and Associates. In addition, a standing
ovation occurred with a farewell
announcement for Mary Ellen Bruce
Large, P.E., D.GE, who had served as director
of technical activities for 11 years.
Changes in technical committee
and DFI chapter chairs were announced
too, with committee, regional
chapter and alliance technical activities
and accomplishments highlighted
in a YouTube channel video.
Lunch goers were then treated to the
Hal Hunt Lecture on Communications
on overcoming adversity by Jim Abbott,
a former Major League Baseball pitcher
and Olympic gold medalist.
Three parallel sessions began midafternoon
on Thursday, with pile
design/flood protection and sustainability
talks early on, followed by
sessions on high loads or analytical and
QC techniques, in addition to talks in
the Exhibit Hall. A workshop on
geotechnical baseline reports and
sessions about case studies and
seismic mitigation then bookended the
conference on Friday morning.
Posthumous Member Award
Of special note is Thursday evening's
Awards Reception and Banquet. It
included recognitions, such as the top
three Outstanding Projects DFI selected
in 2021. Much of the focus, however,
was on remembering Dale Biggers, who
Virgene Biggers and daughter Eva Erickson Biggers accepting the DSA posthumously for Dale Biggers with
Dale's cousins (left) and Robert S. Boh and Harald Baur (right), Boh Bros. Construction
was to have received the institute's
Distinguished Service Award in Vegas
for his exceptionally valuable contributions
to the advancement of the deep
foundation industry (see the obituary
on pg 113 for more about him). A video
was played with photos of the late vice
president at Boh Bros. Construction and
members sharing stories about him. For
instance, the video available on DFI's
YouTube channel includes comments
from Lucky Nagarajan of Giken
America Corp., who shared her surprise
when learning how approachable the
" VP " of the industry was after seeking
him out at an IFCEE social gathering.
" He was so good at asking questions and
listening - be it [a] technical question
or nontechnical, he was [a] world of
knowledge. Funny, always a smile,
charismatic, most inspiring and [the]
list could go on. "
Biggers' wife also spoke eloquently
about the New Orleanian's many
accomplishments and DFI friendships.
It was a time of sharing that underlies
the commitment to communications
and camaraderie that are a hallmark of
DFI gatherings.
Conference On-Demand
Registered attendees continue to have
access to the recorded sessions and
exhibitor displays through December
31, 2021, and anyone who missed the
l ive event can st i l l regi ster at
www.dfi.org/Annual2021.
DFI47 in Maryland
We look forward to connecting with the
DFI community in National Harbor,
Maryland, in October 2022. See the Call
for Abstracts on page 41 and mark your
calendar for registration opening in
January.
Conference photos by Mark Skalny Photography
26 * DEEP FOUNDATIONS * NOV/DEC 2021

http://www.dfi.org/Annual2021

November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2021